The claim that “Bangladesh is not on the list for the 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery” is misleading. Recently, several posts with the caption “DV Lottery 2026: Bad news, Bangladesh not on the list” have circulated on Facebook. However, FactWatch’s investigation shows that under U.S. law, the Diversity Visa (DV) program for Bangladeshi citizens officially ended in September 2012.

The investigation began with a report published by Dainik Ajker Kantho and an attached photo card that claimed Bangladesh was not on the DV Lottery list for 2026. The news spread on Facebook as a “new update.” Comments under the report and related posts show that many users assumed this exclusion happened for the first time this year, criticizing the current government. Comments such as “#stepdownyunus,” “The fruits of red independence,” and “The world leader’s contribution” indicate that commenters believed Bangladesh was newly excluded from the DV Lottery program.

Apart from Ajker Kantho’s photo card, a page named BD Tally also shared a similar post, stating in its caption that “the U.S. State Department has brought bad news for young men and women hoping for a better life and job opportunities abroad. The United States has excluded Bangladesh from the 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery list.” This post also implied that Bangladesh had been excluded for the first time.

A keyword search found a Prothom Alo report from 2014, which stated that the DV program for Bangladeshi citizens ended in September 2012. Citing the U.S. Embassy in Dhaka, the report explained that under U.S. law, if more than 50,000 immigrants from a country enter the United States within five years, that country becomes ineligible to participate in the DV program.

From 2007 to 2012, more than 50,000 immigrants from Bangladesh entered the United States. As a result, Bangladesh has been ineligible for the DV program since then.

A review of reports from Bangladesh’s mainstream media shows that confusion about the DV Lottery reappears almost every year since 2012. Examples can be found in Prothom Alo reports from 2016, 2017, and 2019. The recurring discussions reflect the continuing public interest in this visa and periodic updates from the U.S. government regarding eligible countries.

A review of the websites of the U.S. Embassy in Bangladesh and the U.S. Department of State shows that information about the DV Lottery is updated nearly every year after 2012. Local news outlets then publish reports based on these updates, sparking renewed discussion. For instance, in 2018, the U.S. State Department’s website listed countries eligible to apply for the DV Lottery and later, in the section naming ineligible countries, included Bangladesh along with others. Similar notifications were published in 2013 and 2020.

Therefore, after reviewing all available information, it is clear that the DV Lottery program for Bangladesh has not resumed since 2012. Consequently, FactWatch concludes that the claim “Bangladesh is not on the list for the 2026 DV Lottery” is misleading.

Original News Source: https://www.fact-watch.org/dv-2026-bd/